By : ADINA SOLOMON
Source : http://redandblack.com
Category : Small Business Grant
The University College of Public Health received a five-year, $3 million grant toward a study researching how to improve type 2 diabetes education.
The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases are funding the grant.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type, said Mark Wilson, professor and department head of the Department of Health Promotion in the College of Public Health. He said type 2 is usually caused by lifestyle choices.
“The vast majority of those with type 2 diabetes – 85 percent – are diabetic because they’re overweight or obese,” Wilson said.
In 2011, types 1 and 2 diabetes affected 8.3 percent of the U.S. population, according to a fact sheet released by the Center for Disease Control.
The University’s study will target people where they spend a great deal of time: the workplace.
“I want to impact as many people in Georgia as I can,” Wilson said. “That’s where people spend 40 hours a week.”
Employees at three state and county governments in Athens, Columbus and Macon will go through the study, which will begin in January 2013. Wilson said the three largest employers in most places tend to be healthcare, schools and the government.
“The program is designed to keep people from being diabetic,” he said. “To a great extent, it’s a weight management program.”
Wilson and his team of one other College of Public Health professor and two Terry College of Business professors will implement different formats at each workplace to determine what program works best.
Participants at each workplace will receive a basic program manual that helps people step-by-step to manage their weight. The first workplace will receive only the manual.
The second workplace will receive the manual along with a health coach to answer questions and provide support over the phone. The third workplace will use a health coach in a small-group format. Anywhere from eight to 12 people will gather around a table with the coach.
The first year of the five year study is for planning. The actual implementation at workplaces will last three years. Each year, a new group of 300 employees across all the workplaces will participate in the study, meaning 900 people total will participate in the University’s trial.
The final year will be dedicated to data analysis, answering which workplace implementation best helps people keep their weight in check.
“What’s the best way of giving this program to employees?” Wilson asked. “Ultimately, we’d like to see modifications in behaviors that result in changes in body mass index.”
A study promoting weight management interests organizations because they’re seeing additional healthcare costs as a result of employees’ lifestyles, Wilson said. The University’s study includes lessons on how to eat healthy, such as encouraging workplaces to replace junk-food-filled vending machines with ones offering nutritious snacks.
The college is excited about the study, said Phillip Williams, dean of the College of Public Health.
“It addresses a very important issue for the state — obesity and diabetes,” Williams said. “We need to make significant improvements in those areas in order to have better health outcomes in this state.”
Williams and Wilson also said the study fits in with the University’s statewide obesity initiative that was launched in January.
“I think it’s definitely a great opportunity to gain more understanding about type 2 because it can turn into type 1 if it’s not controlled or taken care of,” Cutcliff said.
At the end of the five-year study, Wilson said he hopes to have an effective diabetes-prevention program that workplaces across Georgia can use.
He also wants a program that workplaces can sustain long-term without the University’s supervision, he said.
“We’ll try to make the program available to other worksites who want to use it,” Wilson said. “It’s much better to have it done internally so that way you can be sure it’ll be sustained over a longer period of time.”
Source : http://redandblack.com/2012/02/07/university-receives-3-million-grant-to-improve-diabetes-education/
Source : http://redandblack.com
Category : Small Business Grant
The University College of Public Health received a five-year, $3 million grant toward a study researching how to improve type 2 diabetes education.
The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases are funding the grant.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type, said Mark Wilson, professor and department head of the Department of Health Promotion in the College of Public Health. He said type 2 is usually caused by lifestyle choices.
“The vast majority of those with type 2 diabetes – 85 percent – are diabetic because they’re overweight or obese,” Wilson said.
In 2011, types 1 and 2 diabetes affected 8.3 percent of the U.S. population, according to a fact sheet released by the Center for Disease Control.
The University’s study will target people where they spend a great deal of time: the workplace.
“I want to impact as many people in Georgia as I can,” Wilson said. “That’s where people spend 40 hours a week.”
Employees at three state and county governments in Athens, Columbus and Macon will go through the study, which will begin in January 2013. Wilson said the three largest employers in most places tend to be healthcare, schools and the government.
“The program is designed to keep people from being diabetic,” he said. “To a great extent, it’s a weight management program.”
Wilson and his team of one other College of Public Health professor and two Terry College of Business professors will implement different formats at each workplace to determine what program works best.
Participants at each workplace will receive a basic program manual that helps people step-by-step to manage their weight. The first workplace will receive only the manual.
The second workplace will receive the manual along with a health coach to answer questions and provide support over the phone. The third workplace will use a health coach in a small-group format. Anywhere from eight to 12 people will gather around a table with the coach.
The first year of the five year study is for planning. The actual implementation at workplaces will last three years. Each year, a new group of 300 employees across all the workplaces will participate in the study, meaning 900 people total will participate in the University’s trial.
The final year will be dedicated to data analysis, answering which workplace implementation best helps people keep their weight in check.
“What’s the best way of giving this program to employees?” Wilson asked. “Ultimately, we’d like to see modifications in behaviors that result in changes in body mass index.”
A study promoting weight management interests organizations because they’re seeing additional healthcare costs as a result of employees’ lifestyles, Wilson said. The University’s study includes lessons on how to eat healthy, such as encouraging workplaces to replace junk-food-filled vending machines with ones offering nutritious snacks.
The college is excited about the study, said Phillip Williams, dean of the College of Public Health.
“It addresses a very important issue for the state — obesity and diabetes,” Williams said. “We need to make significant improvements in those areas in order to have better health outcomes in this state.”
Williams and Wilson also said the study fits in with the University’s statewide obesity initiative that was launched in January.
“I think it’s definitely a great opportunity to gain more understanding about type 2 because it can turn into type 1 if it’s not controlled or taken care of,” Cutcliff said.
At the end of the five-year study, Wilson said he hopes to have an effective diabetes-prevention program that workplaces across Georgia can use.
He also wants a program that workplaces can sustain long-term without the University’s supervision, he said.
“We’ll try to make the program available to other worksites who want to use it,” Wilson said. “It’s much better to have it done internally so that way you can be sure it’ll be sustained over a longer period of time.”
Source : http://redandblack.com/2012/02/07/university-receives-3-million-grant-to-improve-diabetes-education/
